​I’ve often noted that the professional ancient astronaut theorists on the History Channel often sound like they’re trying to start a cult. Sometimes it’s good to remember that there really are people who use ancient astronaut theories to start cults, or a reasonable facsimile of one. I’m sure most readers are familiar with the Raëlism movement, which came to prominence decades ago when whey claimed that ancient astronauts had directed them to engage in human cloning. But I had never heard of Bentinho Massaro, a Millennial New Age guru in Sedona, Arizona, until I read an exposé of his cult-like movement in a Medium.com article yesterday. Frankly, I thought it was fake news until I researched Massaro and discovered that he is a real, ridiculous New Age guru with an ideology that combines a strange mixture of Theosophy, Eastern mumbo-jumbo, ufology, and world domination.

​I’m no expert in New Age movements or cults, so I can’t say whether his movement meets the definition of a cult, but I will say that yoga practitioner Be Scofield, a self-described queer/trans writer, presents a devastating profile of Massaro that is well worth reading. In it, Scofield describes Massaro as verbally abusive, sexually manipulative, and spiritually bankrupt, with excerpts from his YouTube videos and from interviews with his followers to support these claims. However, it’s important to remember that Scofield is not an unbiased observer, and her yoga advocacy comes into direct conflict with Massaro’s quasi-Eastern New Age teachings, so it is possible that Scofield has case Massaro in a more negative light than he deserves. For example, Scofield criticizes Massaro for advocating, crudely, that followers separate themselves from their families. She quotes him this way:

​As crude as these words sound, they are hardly unprecedented in “spiritual” circles. It’s basically a vulgar paraphrase of Jesus, whom Massaro believes himself to have surpassed in “density.” Christ, speaking in Luke 14:26, said the same thing: “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life!”

Scofield also oversteps a journalist’s role by attempting to prove Massaro has mental problems.

That said, if the evidence that Scofield collects is even half true, Massaro is running a cult. I’m not sure there is a positive light to shine on Massaro’s behavior, but I don’t know all the details.

For our purposes, the most salient feature of Massaro’s New Age movement, and his Trinfinity Corporation’s plans to construct a city for his followers, is its utilization of the same stew of conspiracy theories that Ancient Aliens star David Wilcock uses in his “spiritual” teachings, which he terms the “ascension mysteries.” Like Wilcock, Massaro embraced the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and like Wilcock, he has made disturbingly positive noises about Nazi Germany, and connected it all to a cosmic alien conspiracy. And worst of all, both men also fantasize the movies are a secret source of conspiratorial information about space aliens. Here is Massaro, as quoted in the article:

​We have bases on the moon, a bunch of slave colonies on Mars that have been mining the asteroid belt, we have been colonizing galaxies of our solar system, we haven’t needed fossil fuels for the last 80 years because we have anti-gravitic mechanisms…The Nazi’s won the war. The US government gave up their control, their governance so we would not be exposed to free energy devices. If free energy gets released, and we’re [Trinfinity corp] working on it, it changes everything. We’ve had free energy for 80 fucking years.

Don’t be surprised that the aliens we’ll meet — and we will meet them — look like the things you see in the movies. Don’t be like ‘oh this story of this guy is nonsense because I’ve seen that in the movies. He just got it from the movies.’ Well, did he get it from the movies or did the movies get it from them?

The vision statement of Trinfinity is: to have an enlightened civilization by 2035 that’s ready for interstellar absorption. It means that we reach a level of maturity to where we as a collective are able to be contacted openly without us freaking us out anymore, without it needing to be kept secret anymore, we have become are own government.”

Many of you are directly connected to ET consciousnesses.

We’re going to be absorbed initially into different confederations or alliances of civilizations that are 4th density or higher. We will be taught a lot. There will be a new type of education.

​I can’t help but think that the similarity to Wilcock’s uniquely bonkers teachings may not be coincidental.

One small detail amazed me: Somehow parlor tricks are still fooling people. Here is one of his followers praising his magical powers: “I’ve watched him control the weather a lot of times. We’ll be at a party and I’ll be like ‘Bentinho these clouds are not good, it looks like rain. Within ten minutes they’re gone. He does it all the time. I’ve watched him move objects on tables. I’ve seen him multiple times change weather or move clouds.”

The weather trick is an easy one; the weather is changeable enough that it becomes easy to claim credit, especially when one has checked the radar and the forecast ahead of time and can guess what’s coming. It’s hardly worth commenting on.

But the mention of moving objects on tables reminds me so much of a guy I knew in college who claimed to have magical powers derived from his study of Eastern mysticism. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this at some point in the years I’ve written this blog. We were in the same cultural anthropology class, taught by a neo-hippie, the kind that wore patchwork skirts and far too many beads. Well, she fell for the schtick hook, line, and sinker, and indulged him in his disquisitions on how his mystical powers allowed him to manipulate reality. He claimed to be able to move objects with the power of his mind, and he would demonstrate this to the class. He set a pencil, an empty soda bottle, and a folded piece of paper on a table and caused them to shoot across its surface by pointing at them. I distinctly remember the professor and many of the students rhapsodizing over this display of mystical power.

I didn’t buy it, and I remember that the first thing I asked him is why he had to point at the objects if he was using his mind. He told me that he needed to “focus” the energy. I didn’t buy that either. It took me the whole weekend after his little demonstration, but I taught myself to duplicate his magical feats. The key was realizing that the pointing wasn’t what it seemed. He appeared to be pointing but in fact he was subtly sweeping his arm, creating a breeze that blew the objects.

I got pretty good at it—better than him in fact. I could also do Yuri Geller’s spoon-bending trick, well enough to fool people who hadn’t seen it before. I performed these feats of mystical wonder for the class and explained how it was done. The other guy claimed that even if I did it mechanically, he used mystical powers, and he said he could levitate. Many of my classmates believed him without proof, but I asked him to show us. But of course levitation can only take place alone, at night, with no one watching. Even the dumb ones started to realize that maybe he was making this stuff up.

I can still do the magic movement trick, but I don’t do it very often because the snapping motion needed to create enough of an air current creates terrible pain in my elbow if I do it too much.

I usually have violent tremors which drain me physically, and painful headaches after I move objects mentally. It keeps the "do it again" crowd at bay. (also helps me retrieve my magnet)

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Americanegro

12/2/2017 12:21:44 pm

"[G]alaxies of our solar system" tells us all we need to know.

So will the aliens look like Jeff Bridges or Jeri Ryan? Dibs on T'Pol!

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Shane Sullivan

12/2/2017 01:59:37 pm

Criticize Massaro all you like, but I firmly believe he's every bit as dense as he claims to be.

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Da Nigga

12/4/2017 02:46:55 am

OHHHH DA Negro writing like white folks, OHHHH snowflake

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Catspaw Assassin

12/5/2017 10:46:48 am

Your screen name is racist. Feck off.

BigNick

12/5/2017 11:12:32 pm

How come you never troll us when you're sober

Weatherwax

12/6/2017 02:33:13 am

Does it qualify as trolling if it's just sad drunken rambling?

Only Me

12/2/2017 12:31:40 pm

"we have been colonizing galaxies of our solar system"

I think I laughed way too hard at this.

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Chi Chi

12/3/2017 11:13:38 am

Great observations Jason. The New Age has worked its way into a great deal of alternative information. I was interested in UFO's in the early '70's as a relative youngster enough to have been familiar with the subject matter. At that time none of it included New Age concepts at all. Over the years I lost interest in UFO's but recently checked out some of the content and have watched Ancient Aliens etc. Ancient Aliens and Von Daniken are definitely pushing some spiritual agenda that did not originally exist in the UFO field of interest. Now this has spread to other subjects like fringe history where we now are even seeing individuals touting the existence of eastern concepts in association with the "Viking" Rune Stone of Kensington. A distinct pattern of altering history to suit their doctrine is going on. This is evident from Wilcock and Goode to even some of the major radio programs that seem to be promoting these points of view along with confabs such as Contact in the Desert and the New Life Expo. This is one of the reasons we have seen an uptick in New Age banter from this blogs fav. subject Scott Wolter. He has recently seemed to have gone full New Age guru which his fans are eating up. Surprisingly many of these New Agers tout theories with vaguely racist overtones and are avid Trump supporters such as David Wilcock who even works Trump into his prophecies and "theories." This is kind of shocking in view of the kind of touchy feely hippiness that the New Age used to convey. Now they are kind of spiritual Nazis. I mean do they admire the Nazi UFO scientists to the point that they would now think being a Nazi is cool? To me there is an organization behind all of this distortion of reality and history. Anyone care to make any guesses?

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E.P. Grondine

12/3/2017 01:12:56 pm

Hi Chi Chi -

What you are looking at is the result of computer mailing list activities, now combined with narrow-casting:

One key I was not able to crack is understanding why people in general so desperately want to believe this stuff.

For Kieninger's immediate followers the answers to that question were easy, but not so for the populace at large.

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You Stupid Ass

12/4/2017 07:28:07 pm

I'm not pasting your link in.

Explain what you're say, you stupid ass.

Americanegro

12/5/2017 01:58:55 am

Please do not taunt Happy Fun E.P. Grondine.

A Buddhist

12/8/2017 05:45:28 pm

What eastern concepts? Legalism? Mohism? Tengriism? Daoism? Confucianism? neo-Confucianism? Juche? Donghak? Agriculturalism? Shintoism? School of Names? Shamanism? Buddhism in one of its many forms? Hinduism in one of its many forms? Jainism in one of its two present forms or three past forms? Ajivikaism? Charvakaism? Ajñanaism? Yoga in one of its many forms? There are so many ideas that have been and are practiced to the east of the Indus that the vague term "eastern concepts" is as useful as talking about (for example) "a form of Ishvara worship arising from those who follow Moses" (since the description "a form of Ishvara worship arising from those who follow Moses" could describe any sect ranging from fundamentalist Mormonism to Reform Judaism).

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Catspaw Assassin

12/3/2017 04:39:45 pm

"But DO give a fuck about your bank account, which btw is now mine mine mine! Myuuuaaaaahh!

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Tom mellett

12/3/2017 05:58:59 pm

Here is a blogger with no journalistic pretension giving her assessment of Massaro. It was posted almost 3 years ago.

http://gabypetris.blogspot.com/2015/03/blog-post_24.html

Bentinho Massaro is a guru living in Boulder, Colorado. He encourages his followers to relocate there and form a community around him. He was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder by a psychologist in his native Holland.

Massaro claims he:

Is not human and incarnates on numerous planets to upgrade their civilizations

Is able to do this with relative ease

Is over a hundred years old

Is abundance itself and has the ability to create anything he desires

Is able to direct rain, wind and lightening

Is able to visit his followers in their dreams and transmit to them higher spiritual states ('upgrades')

Will be able to fly and teleport in the next 10 years and has experience of the first stages

No longer fears fear

Is in a place where his physical body no longer touches him

Is a god/God

Is Buddha

Has never met anyone with as much integrity as himself

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Shane Sullivan

12/3/2017 06:03:19 pm

...No doubt due to his peerless density.

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Jim

12/3/2017 06:31:48 pm

"Will be able to fly and teleport in the next 10 years"
Excellent, will he go to the early 20th century for us and steal the stone step from Ohman's barn ?

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Surely Dawn

12/29/2017 01:46:33 am

Bentinho Massaro fled Sedona after he his attempt to prey upon the SEEKERS and was run out of town. Leaving all his followers and team behind after Brent Wilkins body was found NEAR Midgley Bridge. You so called no it all bloggers and reporters should know there is a HUGE ongoing investigation in Sedona. Brent Wilkins death HAS NOT been offically ruled a suicide. Additionally, if it were that simple, why did BM flee? Why are there multiple agencies involved in the investigation and BM's attendees in the Sedona Experiement #2 interviewed? Not really suicide at all? Or maybe Brent gave his life for the greater good to stop BM from destroying others and filling his pockets....

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Tom melletttombuoyed@aol.com

12/29/2017 03:47:32 pm

Thank for the BM update. Reading your comment suddenly reminded me of a similar case near Sedona that occurred in 2009.

That was when the spiritual guru, James Ray, had a sweat lodge ceremony that killed 3 people and injured 18 others.

He was finally convicted of criminally negligent homicide, but only served 2 years jail time and is out re-inventing himself as a new improved guru.

I’ll bet Bentinho follows the same kind of path.

Thomas

2/1/2018 04:36:02 pm

Bentinho massaro is an dangerous individual.he has all the attributes of a cult leader and for the protection of our children
He needs to be stopped.
Ask the parents of brent wilkins who followed this scumbag for two years.he jumped off a bridge to his death in Sedona.

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thomas zabrodsky

3/7/2018 10:14:21 pm

This massaro is a dangerous psycho.the tools who buy into this shot are as sick as him

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tom zabrodsky

4/25/2018 04:41:24 pm

all above is correct and he should be deported

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Americanegro

12/4/2017 01:35:05 am

"But I had never heard of Bentinho Massaro, a Millennial New Age guru in Sedona, Arizona, until I read an exposé of his cult-like movement in a Medium.com article yesterday. Frankly, I thought it was fake news"

Having reread this, the last seven words are super-disappointing.

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Tom mellett

12/4/2017 11:44:52 pm

Mr. Massaro is mobilizing his cult followers to take down the Be Scofield article. This YouTube video is a slide show of screen grabs from Massaro’s FB page.

Sadly, one of BM's inner circle, Bret Wilkins, threw himself off Midgley Bridge in Sedona yesterday after attending a weekend retreat. Bret's mother blames BM. I'm sure more to follow. This is a very dangerous cult.

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Robert

12/12/2017 06:35:52 pm

A young man just committed suicide in Sedona who was on Bentinho Massaro's retreat; the retreat costs $1,200. Fair one week it ends on December 15, 2017. The below post was made in Facebook by Brent's friend.
Bentinho has his followers sleep deprived, and fasted without food and also on grape juice and no water (Dry fasting). These are mind control techniques used by cult leaders.

"As someone that personally knows both Brent and Bentinho. I can tell you absolutely without a doubt Bentinho’s influence on Brent did contribute to his death. On that matter so did Bashar. Due to Brent’s mental state, he believed Bashar and Bentinho about “important work” beyond the veil, that death is an illusion, that there are exciting things in other dimensions, that this form and body are not to be attached to and are not are true self. To disconnect from our families and friends that have limited beliefs and do not support or agree with us.

These are actual beliefs that Brent felt were true and these are absolutely things that both Bashar and Bentinho teaches. Brent did make this choice on his own however he was heavily influenced by teachings that disassociate from the human experience.

I am still heartsick as many of us are that he made this choice. But I can tell you confidently. Brent believed death was true freedom and he had bigger work to do on the other side."

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Curious - Wants to connect

1/26/2018 09:08:02 pm

Robert...I would like to speak with you about your connection with Brent and the group. How can I connect?

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Tom mellett

12/12/2017 10:06:46 pm

Jason, you wrote:

“I can’t help but think that the similarity to Wilcock’s uniquely bonkers teachings may not be coincidental.”

Today I was reading the many comments on Be Scofield’s Facebook page (both before and after the suicide of Brent Wilkins) and I posted a link to your article here saying your focus was more on the UFO/Ancient Alien statements that Massaro made.

Someone living in Sedona just replied to me:

“The person who posted Be's article on the Sedona Bulletin Board prior to the suicide here is Wilcox's ex girlfriend.”

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Tom mellett

12/28/2017 10:32:00 am

Must read!!! Be Scofield’s new article is her diary/journal’s account of discovering and then infiltrating the Bentinho cult last November. What I find fascinating is that she relocated from Asheville, NC to Sedona AZ a month before her cult-busting article appeared and did not know of the existence of Bentinho until she was in Sedona for a few days.

don,t think you know it all. You have a lot to learn.
sorry for you are thinking you know better.
I wish you the best. but you are just the best for this matrix.
Perfectly manipulated. but not trustworthy.
sorry bit sad for Jason. But learning all the time.
wish you the best. And mum and dad will be proud of you.

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SLRG

4/19/2018 04:43:03 pm

International Cultic Studies Group gives a list of things that characterizes cults.. their version of a useful analytical tool. Upon examination of the list and the reports about Bentiho, it would appear Bentiho is in the cult category, or at least rushing in that direction (after all, he's young yet, and still perfecting his methods). Here is the list:

‪ 1. The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.

‪ 2. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

‪3. Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

‪ 4. The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marryï¿½or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).

‪ 5. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatarï¿½or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

‪ 6. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.

‪ 7. The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).

‪ 8. The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).

9. ‪ The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt iin order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

10. ‪ Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.

‪ 11. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

‪ 12. The group is preoccupied with making money.

‪ 13. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

‪ 14. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

15. The most loyal members (the "true believers") feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

I live in Sedona, and personally know one woman who is full into Bentiho. I have witnessed a negative change in her; she has become increasingly out of touch with reality, and becomes verbally abusive, screaming f-bombs in crowded restaurants when she percieves her world-view is being threatened (particularly difficult because we have a group that meets with the purpose of actually exchanging ideas in an atmosphere of mutual respect, something she simply can't handle with any kind of adult emotional maturity, no doubt because of the cult's insistence on not questioning).

My neighbor has expressed similar concerns around some of his family members who are also into Bentinho.

Now Sedona has another suicide off Midgley Bridge. My deepest sympathies for Brent's family and friends.

I love Sedona... A fortunate geological accident involving an eroded ancient river delta created breath-taking scenery perfect for hiking and biking. I am saddened that it also draws people seeking to use nature's beauty to promote their own twisted agendas, drawing in the more vulnerable among us.

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tom.zabrodsky

4/25/2018 04:39:11 pm

its time for the authorities to take action against this psychopath.i think this idiot is dutch.He worked hard to get rid of his accent

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I'm an author and editor who has published on a range of topics, including archaeology, science, and horror fiction. There's more about me in the About Jason tab.